Balconies Of Atlantis
by tielan
Summary: Major Lorne is thinking about throwing himself off a balcony.


**NOTES**: Written at the request of an anonymouse over on my LJ. Lorne and Teyla and Sheppard at breakfast.

**Balconies Of Atlantis**

Right now, Mark Lorne is contemplating throwing himself off the nearest balcony.

As the next-senior officer down from Sheppard, he's drawn the short straw.

Frankly, Sheppard's love life is none of his business; Lorne's just the junior officer and a sometime friend. He doesn't blame Sheppard either; Teyla's good company in all situations, and Sheppard's _been_ through all situations with Teyla and his team-mates, and the four of them are pretty close.

But Lorne's the next-senior officer down the chain of command, and someone has to say _something_. Even if it's only, '_You lucky bastard._'

"Major Lorne."

He glances up from his cup of coffee, startled out of his thoughts. "Teyla." At her inquiring gesture, he sits up, automatically running a hand through his hair. So he hasn't got a hope next to Sheppard - that doesn't mean he doesn't want to look...neat. "Yeah, sit down." He gives her a brief smile and feels slightly breathless when she smiles back, warm and unselfconscious. "Please."

"You were not waiting for someone?"

"If I wasn't, I've got someone now," he points out with a smile. She arches a brow, but takes the seat.

"You are up early. The morning roster?"

He tilts his cup, sloshing the dregs of his coffee around in the bottom. "Yeah. I swapped with Sergeant O'Halloran."

Teyla's mouth twitches, "His pursuit of Dr. Torrens does not go so well?"

Lorne thinks he shouldn't be surprised that Teyla knows about O'Halloran and Torrens. She might not gossip, but she manages to keep up with what's happening around the base - at least on a personal front. "He wants another chance to strike up a conversation tonight."

She lifts the mug of tea, thick and strong enough for Lorne to smell over his own coffee - Teyla loves her tea. "Is it customary of your people to be so...hesitant...in matters of the heart?"

Lorne briefly wonders if she's talking about O'Halloran or someone else. "O'Halloran's taking the initiative," he said. "That's pretty bold."

Her mouth twitches. "Perhaps it is perspective. My people are more...direct...about interest."

"How direct did Sheppard have to be?" The question's bold and she flushes into dusky shades and looks down at her mug, before her eyes skip up to his.

"Very." Lorne doesn't doubt it as she looks at him, uncertain of his reaction. "You...do not mind?"

Is she asking if he minds personally or professionally? Either way, the answer's the same. "It's not my place to mind."

Dark eyes study him with disconcerting directness. "And yet you have thought upon it," she says. "I understand that such a relationship is not...usual."

Lorne hesitates. Not minding is one thing, truthfulness is another - especially when it's to be told to a woman who'll face off against him on the sparring mat in twenty-four hours.

"It's not," he says at last. "But there's nothing 'usual' about Atlantis."

"Amen to that," says a new voice, and Sheppard sits down in the nearby chair and turns to Teyla. "I thought we were having breakfast together." If it's not quite an accusation, it's not totally innocuous either.

"It is still possible," she notes. "Although you do not have yours."

Sheppard looks defensive. "I can get it."

Amazing how much can be expressed in a tilt of the head, in a lift of the eyebrow. Lorne watches Teyla, then checks himself as Sheppard catches him watching. There's a moment when the other man shifts, subtly possessive, then he smiles. "So I'll go get that breakfast, then?"

"I will not share mine," says Teyla.

Sheppard leaves after one wary, backwards glance at Lorne. He doesn't quite bend to kiss Teyla's cheek, but his hand touches her shoulder as he gets up.

Teyla, on the other hand, has another sip of her tea. "Will it cause trouble?"

Lorne thinks about the regulations, about living life in the shadow of the Wraith. He thinks about the lack of Earth military personnel on Sheppard's team, and the kind of personality that manages to deal with both Rodney McKay and Ronon Dex on a daily basis. He thinks about the bigwigs on Earth who've never lived life on the frontline, never put their complete trust in the people who watch their back, never had to separate their feelings from their actions in their life.

He thinks about the woman whose quiet soul looks out at him from her dark eyes, and about waking up to a smile that's all the more beautiful for its rarity.

"Not in Atlantis," he says.

"And on Earth?"

Lorne holds her gaze. "Sheppard considers you worth it." _Who am I to say otherwise?_

Teyla considers the answer; considers Lorne with a look that makes him flush a little. Then she nods and accepts what he's told her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The smile she gives him is slow and slightly wicked, and he looks at her and thinks about throwing Sheppard off a balcony instead.

- **fin **-


End file.
